Filling In The Blanks
by tonicwater
Summary: A series of short pieces to fill in the gaps, the scenes we didn't see, in 'The Desert'.
1. Chapter 1

Mindy set her gas station wine down on her bedside locker, sure that it wasn't at all responsible for her renewed faith in her relationship with Cliff. Her mind was racing with ideas. Would she go for the grand gesture – à la 'Mindiana Jones' – or offer up a humble apology? Would there be food involved? God, no, that wasn't even a question.

She hopped out of bed to wash the taste of crappy wine from her mouth. Mid-scrub, she caught the sound of her phone buzzing on her bed. Her ears were tuned in enough to always detect a vibrating phone, whatever surface it was sitting on. It was one of those things Danny told her she shouldn't consider a talent. She rushed out, brush in mouth, to answer the call, certain it was Cliff. He was calling to take back everything he'd said, she convinced herself, and they could forget this had ever happened.

She nearly threw the phone at the wall when she saw it was Danny.

'What do you even want Castel-lamo?' she shot down the phone in frustration.

'It's nice to talk to you too,' Danny replied, sarcastically. His tone was more muted than normal, and even in her slightly tipsy state Mindy picked up on it immediately.

'Wait, what's going on, Danny?'

'I should ask you the same question,' he deflected, 'what's got you so riled up?'

'I don't really want to talk about it,' she muttered.

'Wait what? Mindy are you ok? I'm coming over,' he said, genuinely concerned.

'No, Danny, it's fine. I'm fine. Cliff just, he broke up with me, a little while ago. But I'm going to get him back, it's all a big misunderstanding.'

'Wait, why did-'

'It's not important,' she cut him off, 'what's important is that it wasn't a good reason, and I'll be totally able to persuade him of that when I'm back in New York.'

'Are you sure that's such a good idea?'

'Of course it is. He only dumped me because he thought I was cheating on him with Casey, which I clearly wasn't.'

'Hold on, when did Casey come into this?' Danny was thoroughly confused. He didn't think much could have possibly happened in the few days when he wasn't paying attention to Mindy's life, but apparently everything changed while he wasn't looking.

'Really, it's such a long story, and like I said, not important.' She sighed. 'Anyway, why did you call? Is something up?'

'No, no nothing's up. I just wanted to check in with you. We've barely seen each other since we got here.' He lied through his teeth. He'd been caught off-guard by the Cliff thing. He didn't want to bring up his daddy issues with her _now_.

'That's sweet, Danny. You should come over in the morning, we can probably grab breakfast or something.'

'Yeah,' he exhaled, 'yeah that sounds like a good idea.'

'You sound tired, you should like, try to get some sleep or something. See you here at 9?'

'Sure, I'll be there,' he smiled, even though she couldn't see him, and even though he didn't mean it.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny woke at 7am, like clockwork. Bleary-eyed and poorly-rested, he pulled himself out of bed to shower and freshen up. His sleep had been fraught, when he made it there in the first place. He was haunted by thoughts of his impending paternal reunion, not to mention his ambivalence towards Mindy's love life. The fact that he shouldn't even _care_ whom Mindy was dating, and still did, that alone turned his stomach and kept him awake half the night.

By 8:30 he had made himself at least look presentable for the day. He'd downed a cup of black coffee after an ice cold shower, mainly to remind himself that he was a man. He could handle whatever the day brought him.

He was a little early arriving at Mindy's hotel room, but she spared him the usual lecture.

'Hey Danny!' she smiled, looking radiant. Shit, no, he wasn't supposed to associate that kind of word with his co-worker-friend. But dammit if she couldn't work a pair of pyjamas and bed-hair. It was in that smile, he thought. That smile that didn't care about how much make up she had on her face, or how styled her hair was, or what she was wearing.

'Hey Min,' he stepped into the room, 'I thought you said to get here at nine?' He felt like he needed to at least _sound_ disgruntled at the fact that she was still in her nightwear, to compensate for the inappropriate thoughts he was having about it.

'Yeah I know, but I forgot I'd have all this packing to do. It's harder to pack than you'd think, not that you'd know, Mr. "My-suitcase-fits-under-the-plane-seat".'

'There's nothing wrong with packing conservatively!' he defended himself. 'You always bring way too much on these trips, anyway.'

'Whatever, just make yourself comfortable and I'll get on with it.'

He obliged, sitting down on the bed next to her excessively large case.

'How can you be in such a good mood? Your boyfriend dumped you.' He asked, to make conversation. He knew she was determined to win Cliff back already, but he was still curious as to how Mindy Lahiri could bounce back so vibrantly from such a sudden break-up.

'On a technicality, Danny, and like Amanda 'Foxy Knoxy' Knox, I too will be exonerated. I changed my flight, I'm going to go back to New York this morning, and I'm going to win Cliff back.'

Oh okay that explains the urgency to pack _right now_, Danny thought to himself. Although he hadn't verbally questioned her preparedness for their evening flight, it had struck him as odd. It wasn't really like Mindy to being thinking that far ahead with things like this.

Shit, that sort of threw a spanner into his plan.

'No you're not,' Danny blurted out, panicked. 'You're coming with me to see my Dad.'

As incredulous and shocked as Mindy was, she wasn't sufficiently persuaded to accompany him to his dad's. So naturally, he resorted to deception to get her to come.

He felt awful about lying to her about the ride to the airport, but in that moment his need to have her by his side outweighed his guilt. Part of what had spurred him to actually call his dad was the thought of Mindy standing by him. It was insane that that was how he was processing all this, but he couldn't account for his irrationality wherever Mindy was concerned these days. One emotional problem at a time.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny's trick with the tonic water worked. Even if he did feel stupid for freaking out over seltzer, he felt like it was believable. He _was _pretty much that neurotic. In any case, it was enough to distract Mindy from the massive sign for LAX he'd seen coming up ahead, directing them to take the next ramp right. He was sort of proud of how well he'd timed the diversion.

It was a happy coincidence that Mindy decided to try to sleep, because he probably wouldn't be able to keep up this act for much longer. There had to be a lot more signs for that airport scattered along this highway. A lot of signs directing them in the opposite direction, in fact.

He couldn't fool his mind into not feeling guilty, however. He knew what he was doing was wrong on many levels, but he couldn't help himself. Okay, no, he probably could. He was definitely in control of his behaviour here. It was his heart that was giving him trouble.

Every now and then, he'd glance over at her and think about how peaceful she looked when she slept. Mindy was such a highly-strung person that it was rare to catch her looking calm. Not that she'd be particularly calm on waking up in the middle of a desert instead of LAX departures. She'd probably accuse him of abducting her or something else thoroughly hyperbolic. He shuddered at the fact that he wasn't really a million miles away from that. He supposed it was a good sign that he felt so awful about what he was doing. It meant he hadn't completely lost his mind.

He wasn't sure what made him more anxious – meeting his father, or how desperate he was to have Mindy with him when he did. He couldn't pin-point exactly when his colleague had become his friend, or when she'd become more than that. He knew that if someone had told him a year ago that he'd go out of his way to ensure that Mindy Lahiri was by his side when he went to his dad's house, he'd have asked them what they were smoking. And yet, there he was, barely questioning the fact that Mindy was the one person he would trust to accompany him on this trip.

Meeting his father was going to be hellish. He wasn't sure how he could ever look that man in the eye. The idea of punching him square in the face on sight and driving off seemed like the best course of action, if he was honest. God, he hated that man. He had been trying for over two decades to understand how a man could abandon his two young children. He'd never worked it out. He didn't have children of his own, and didn't know if he ever would, but he knew he'd never walk out his family. Nothing could ever make him do that to another generation of Castellanos – to anyone, for that matter.

His fist clenched around the steering wheel just thinking about it. He looked over at his reluctant travel companion again, and was a little reassured by her presence. Even if she wasn't on board with being there yet, he knew she'd help him do the right thing in the end. She always did. She had this weird effect on him. Even though they fought all the time – most of the time, it felt – he knew he was a better person for knowing and being around her. If anyone could help him to turn this situation into something remotely positive, it was Mindy Lahiri.


	4. Chapter 4

Mindy took her 'kidnapping' as poorly as Danny envisaged she would. He'd hoped she would readjust her priorities a little bit and see the importance of staying with him, but she was still as determined as ever to get back to New York as soon as possible. Though not entirely surprised by this, he was disappointed that Cliff still ranked ahead of him. He came second to a guy who would dump her for simply _seeing_ her ex-fiancé.

Cliff didn't seem to 'get' Mindy at all. He didn't understand that she was impulsive and she sometimes did stupid things, but was ultimately fiercely loyal and caring. She was the last woman who would cheat on her boyfriend.

If only Cliff knew the lengths she'd gone to just to be with him in the first place, and how much she yammered on about him every day at work, he'd have no doubt about her. It begged the question – if it was so obvious to Danny and everyone around Mindy how much her relationship with Cliff meant, why couldn't Cliff see that for himself?

Danny never imagined that thoughts of Mindy would be distracting him as he settled in for dinner with his father for the first time in over two decades. He wasn't sure if was a reflection of her personality or his own neuroses that she troubled his mind as pervasively as she did. It was probably a little of both.

'Danny?' Mindy shook him gently, as if to illustrate the point.

'What?'

'I was just talking about how you're a successful Manhattan doctor and was like "right, Danny?" but you were all glazed over like you were having one of those absence seizures again.' She turned to their hosts, 'I mean, he does that a lot, but he doesn't have seizures. Or at least we don't think he does, have you ever got that checked out Danny?'

He smirked at her babbling.

'I'm not epileptic, Min, don't worry. And yeah, I guess we're pretty successful. We have the practice, it does well.' Danny said conservatively. He didn't really feel like boasting about how great his life was. Not when he was supposed to be making his dad feel guilty for messing him up.

'Danny always short-sells himself. He's a really great doctor. I even let him be my doctor once,' she gave him a sideways glance, 'but given our line of work that got weird real quickly.'

Dani giggled. Apparently their Dad's parenting style hadn't rendered her completely naïve.

'I was doing a good job until you chickened out,' he defended.

'I don't remember it quite going like that…' Mindy smiled. 'But that's besides the point.'

'It sounds like you've got a great life out there. You've really done well for yourself,' Alan commented. 'I'm proud of you, son.'

Danny bristled. His father had no right to say that. What did he have to be proud of? What, was he going to claim that the trauma of abandonment was what spurred young Danny to work hard at school and get into an Ivy League college? As if.

Mindy, noticing her friend's discomfort, placed her hand on the fist he was clenching under the table. The gesture was out of the other pair's sight, and Mindy didn't break her gaze from her food as she offered it. She felt Danny's hand relaxed a little, grazing his thumb over hers just briefly. She gently pulled it away, shooting him a little look of encouragement. She wasn't entirely sure what possessed her to calm him that way, but it had seemed to work.

In a sense, it had worked. Danny was no longer consumed by anger and frustration at his father. That had been replaced by longing and lust for the woman sitting to his right.

Fuck, he needed a drink.


	5. Chapter 5

Danny failed in his last-ditch attempts to persuade Mindy to stay in LA with him. He wandered in the desert for an hour and a half – although it seemed like much longer – which on its own was a terrible idea. Adding alcohol into the mix spelled disaster from the outset. But of course, he was too wrapped up in more pressing issues to worry about his personal safety.

Why the _hell_ had Mindy freakin' caressed his hand at dinner? Mindy was the queen of romantic comedies – there was no way she was oblivious to the possible implications of stroking her male co-worker's hand like that. Even if she was trying to reassure him, it seemed like a rather…intimate gesture.

But maybe she was oblivious. Maybe she had no feelings for him whatsoever and never even considered that he would read it that way. Shit, that had to be it. There was no way, if she had any remote feelings for him, any feelings that mattered, that she'd keep talking and talking about Cliff the way she did around him. You don't go to the guy you secretly have the hots for looking for relationship advice. You don't tell him about your elaborate plans to get another guy to kiss you. You don't ask him to be your personal trainer so you can look sexy for another man. You don't do that unless you can hide your emotions exceptionally well - Mindy wasn't that kind of girl. She wore her heart on her sleeve.

He kicked at the dirt, cursing under his breath. Not that there was anyone around to hear him. He felt physically sick, and worse, foolish. Why would Mindy ever want to be with him? He was grouchy, and sweaty, and short, and "and old man". He was the polar opposite of everything Mindy looked for in a man.

The one modicum of relief he got from this revelation was that if Mindy had no feelings for him, and was even barely aware that he felt that way, she _definitely_ wouldn't have held his hand that way. She wasn't the type to lead a guy on either, especially not her friend. At least he knew that she really didn't mean anything by the gesture. It was just a platonic expression of solidarity, or something.

It didn't sweeten the rejection he was feeling, but it at least relieved him of the embarrassment. He didn't like to think that Mindy felt uncomfortable around him.

He didn't notice himself getting lost.


	6. Chapter 6

'_You're mean, yeah, you're mean, and you are selfish…'_

Mindy's words echoed around Danny's head as they walked back toward her car. They stung, partly because they held some truth, but mostly because of who said them. He knew that Mindy hadn't always been his biggest fan, and that he hadn't always been the nicest to her, but he had thought she saw him differently now. He had thought that once they'd got to know each other, she'd realised that he wasn't a complete douche. Obviously he'd done a poor job of convincing her.

Or maybe that _was_ who he was. Maybe he was just a selfish asshole. Perhaps he'd been putting on that pretense for so long that it had overtaken him. It would certainly make sense. How many times in the past two days had he made Mindy put her own plans on hold for his benefit? He'd been reckless and she was the worse for it. And then he lashed out at her over wanting to salvage her relationship with Cliff? He couldn't even blame his drunkenness for that. That was just nasty. Probably slightly more endearing to someone who knew just how much his heart ached for her, but still not at all justified.

He was definitely drunk. "His heart ached for her"? How pathetic did that sound? But he had to admit once again that it wasn't as far removed from the truth as he would have liked. He was relieved that he wasn't drunk enough to reveal this tidbit to her. How easily he might have thrown it in there – "Why do you want to be with that guy so bad, he doesn't even want you the way I do!". He could practically hear himself saying it. Even in his mild stupor he could muster a certain level of restraint.

Mindy was better off with Cliff, he concluded. His own feelings, as strong as they were, had to come second to Mindy's wishes. Mindy was clear-sighted in her intention to win Cliff back and he wasn't going to stand in her way. He wasn't going to drop his own, irrelevant desire on her and just expect her to deal with it. She didn't deserve that.

So he trudged on behind her, hands shoved in his pockets, silent but for a poor attempt at Rue's whistle every few minutes. Because he did care.


	7. Chapter 7

Mindy insisted on driving to the airport.

'I'm not taking any chances with you, you kidnapping weirdo.'

The journey was tense. They hadn't actually been alone together since Alan had "rescued" them. Mindy knew that something was bothering her friend when he didn't make any protest at her music choices. His nose wrinkled a little at the opening strains of _XO_, but that was it.

She picked up her phone and tossed it to him.

'Your turn to pick the music, Castellano.' An olive branch of sorts.

Wordlessly, he started scrolling through her library.

'Am I expecting to find something I know or like in here, Min?'

'I don't know, you tell me? You can plug yours in if my taste isn't up to your _standards_.'

He shook his head.

'Hey, wait, since when do you have the entire discography of The National on your freakin iPod?' he asked incredulously.

Mindy blushed.

'I guess I downloaded some of their albums a while back because you kept going on and _on_ about how much you liked their stuff. I figured they must be pretty good if they could get you even half as excited as you normally are about Springsteen.'

Danny smiled.

'And? What did you think?'

'I mean, they're not what I'd normally listen to, but I sort of like them too. I feel like they're really talented but if I listened to their songs for too long I would get pretty depressed.'

'That's fair. Although that song you just had on wasn't exactly uplifting either.'

'Yeah but it's Beyoncé,' she retorted, as if that were self-explanatory. She kept her eyes fixed on the road. 'I know I pick on you for your taste in stuff in general, Danny, but – and I mean I'm not saying The National aren't like seriously a dad rock sort of band – you're not half as uncool as I make you out to be.'

'Thanks, I think,' Danny smirked.

'You can't really bust a move to _I Should Live In Salt_ though, you have to admit.'

'Of course not, the time signature's too irregular,' he shook his head. 'No, I mean clearly you don't dance to this music. I have Aaliyah for that.'

'You bet you do.'

Although their conversation was more amicable, there remained a certain uneasiness between them that hadn't gone over Danny's head. But now was not the moment to address that. For now, small talk and uneasy silence – filled for now by the sound of _Trouble Will Find Me_ – would have to suffice.


End file.
